spin spinning — taste baby’s blood
when u were ten i was
plasma and platelets — adjacent
spin spinning — sans défense
in a centrifuge
u have a green degree
examine my iron skin
my baby’s skin
ur fingers lick my waist with intent
(for medical purposes)
spin spinning — on deux
oh ur a newbie, noob
teach me everything again
spin spinning — sans défense
in ur hands
ur sweaty onyx skin
darkens my gray shirt to black
You’re rubbing off on me, babe—
I’m dancing like me again.
(a saturday mixer)
spin spinning — i c u
we’re above the crowd
staring through each other’s foreheads
spin spinning — douseeme?
i refuse the truth is i’m dizzy
V E R T I G O
the night shoulders my spine
but u don’t dare
ur lisence on the line
oxidizing in the air.
very interesting, salsa king
u waste talent to gut it
snare the young for dissection
rattlesnakes in a bucket.
(shh shh shh)
onyx scarf snakes my neck
don’t forget the door
15 years in new york city
never felt scared before.
u want so much
so much
so much
But vertigo gets me every time i try to run away.
im spinning babe, on my tips
everyone sees it — do u?
ur on the path to perfect peace
and i will graduate high school.
V E R T I G O
The feeling of spinning even when you’re not moving // when a person feels that they or their surroundings are moving in a circular motion.
my hand catches on
a white wall
where i wonder if i am upside-down
i reorient and see
four hundred children’s handprints
where i recognize my own
the window is covered by
a blackout curtain
its nighttime in daycare
with no lights
how can i see?
i see a man above me
God? is holding rattlesnakes
i try to scream
shh shh shh
i try to run away
shh shh shh
but vertigo gets me
shh shh shh.